UK Gambling Commission fines Spreadex $2.6 million over AML, safer gambling failures

The UK Gambling Commission has fined online gaming operator Spreadex  £2.02 million ($2.6 million) for breaches in anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility rules, marking the second enforcement action against the firm since 2022.

The Commission said the infractions, which occurred between September 2022 and November 2023, included failures in customer risk assessment, weak financial due diligence, and inadequate interventions to protect users showing signs of gambling harm.

Spreadex, which operates casino and fixed-odds betting via its website, will also be required to undergo a third-party audit to ensure compliance with AML and safer gambling standards.

Among the breaches, the regulator said Spreadex relied too heavily on customers’ self-reported financial information and failed to request appropriate evidence of source of funds (SOF). In one case, a customer deposited £64,000 over a short period and lost £50,000 within a month without being asked to provide SOF documentation.

The Commission also flagged a lack of escalation in due diligence processes, noting that the operator repeated the same checks on high-risk customers without adjusting scrutiny as deposits increased.

Social responsibility failures were also cited. One customer exceeded a daily deposit limit of £3,340 on 12 occasions within 14 days, but the operator’s response was limited to four automated pop-up messages, with no direct human intervention.

“This marks the second time Spreadex Limited has been subject to enforcement action,” said John Pierce, Head of Enforcement at the Gambling Commission. “The operator placed undue reliance on customer assurances about the source of funds, rather than obtaining evidence from independent and verifiable sources, as we would expect.”

Pierce said licensees must act swiftly in response to suspicious activity and have robust, proactive systems in place to assess risk.

“The ability to assess customer risk in a holistic manner is essential for effective risk management,” he added. “Operators should be in no doubt: repeated regulatory failings will result in escalating enforcement action.”

Spreadex previously paid a £1.36 million regulatory settlement in 2022 for similar failings.